Amazon UK has announced plans to create more than 5,000 full-time jobs this year, taking the company’s total UK workforce to more than 24,000.

The new jobs cover a variety of roles, from software developers, engineers and technicians to entrylevel positions. Where possible, Amazon plans to recruit from its seasonal workforce, pointing out that 10,000 of the company’s existing 19,000 employees started in a seasonal role.

In addition to the full-time roles, Amazon is launching a new apprenticeship programme, offering hundreds of apprenticeship opportunities in engineering, logistics and warehousing roles in fulfilment centres across the country.

Last month, Amazon Web Services launched AWS re:Start, a free training and job placement programme for the UK to educate young adults as well as military veterans, reservists, and their spouses, on the latest software development and cloud computing technologies.

Working with QA Consulting, The Prince’s Trust, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD), AWS re:Start brings together AWS Partner Network (APN) partners and customers to offer work placements to 1,000 people.